The Alaska Senate took a step toward eliminating a $100 million loophole in state tax law that allows Hilcorp to avoid an income tax paid by ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and others.
The Senate adopted an amendment to HB 194 on an 11-8 vote to extend the state corporate income tax to Hilcorp and other oil and gas companies that earn more than $1 million net profit.
Read MoreThe Dunleavy administration says that local governments could get nothing in taxes for up to 10 years from the proposed gas pipeline.
Or the governments would start to collect relatively small amounts as soon as the pipeline carries at least 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, an amount that is far beyond the energy needs of the in-state market today.
Read MoreThe so-called conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Cour could rule it unconstitutional to allow ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted 10 days later—the practice that has long been used in Alaska—so the state needs a plan.
Read MoreIt’s remarkable that even the Alaska Legislature is being denied access to a public document created with more than $250,000 of public money for the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
Read MoreWith the Permanent Fund now at the half-century mark, and the fund’s assets near $90 billion, the need for legislative oversight is greater than at any time in our history. Alaskans would better understand the operations and investment choices of the fund if we take steps now to create a transparent and functioning review process that protects the fund and the public.
Read MoreIt’s been 50 years since Alaska voters created the Permanent Fund through an amendment to the Alaska Constitution. While this is one of the great success stories in Alaska history, enough time has passed to recognize a danger sign: Far too much power over the giant fund is delegated to a single person in the executive branch of state government—the governor.
Read MoreAccording to my rough math, if this is a $50 billion project, instead of a property tax of about $1 billion per year, Dunleavy is proposing an alternative tax of about $76 million per year, a reduction of about 92 percent. Most of the $75 million would go to the North Slope, Denali, Mat-Su and Kenai boroughs.
Read MoreThose claiming the Permanent Fund must be doing something wrong because it has not matched the gains of the S&P 500 in the past few years are missing something.
Aside from acting as if perfect hindsight is a roadmap for the future, they are also blind to the need for diversification, which lowers the risk during those periods when specific targets, including the S&P 500, collapse in value.
Read MoreIn a letter to constituents, Sen. Lisa Murkowski says “It is now the duty of Congress to define the scope of this conflict and require the President to present his case for this action in full and transparently.”
Read MoreKeeping the Permanent Fund permanent means reducing the amount we withdraw from it each year.
Instead of taking our 5 percent a year, put a schedule in place to reduce it to 4.5 percent by 2033. Keeping more money in the fund is the best way to improve the chances of future growth, a lesson we should have learned years ago from the Norwegians.
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